Dreaming in Technicolor

I really should keep a journal, but I think that I am just not dedicated enough for that one.

Anyway, the last couple of days have been very interesting with all of the ups and downs that have been going on in my life (leaky roof, car, money woes, etc.), but the ups have been great.

The one thing that has re-energized me is the reality that I am moving closer to achieving some of my dreams, especially those where wine is related. But first, let me bring in the Technicolor reference. As I woke up and flipped through channels this morning, I turned on Retro Centric on the new Centric channel (the old BETJ). The first video was "For the Lover in You" which was a remake by Babyface featuring LL Cool J and Shalamar. It was followed by a video from Guy. The videos were swathed in vibrant colors, as they were from the early 90s, a time when Cross Colours gear was one of the styles. Now, I loved the song, and it also made me remember the episode of Unsung which was on Shalamar.

But it touched me another way as well… and that is in the fact that I am both a musician, an artist, and overall a very creative person. I have written poems, books, made a documentary, played with/for a West African dance company, arranged music, recorded music, acted as a recording engineer and producer, photographed many things as well as have been the model/subject, and I am not done yet as I need to get back to all of that.

As I said, I am not done yet, and even for what I am working on, I will be integrating my creative facets and assets into it like no one can imagine, except for those that know me well. Soon, it will be time to dust off the lenses, tune up the drums, call in some people, and make my own private carnival!

So, over the past few days, if not the past week, I have had some great dynamics going on in the world of wine. I have reached out to one restaurant in hopes of doing some tastings/samplings there and while they don't have their corporate/organizational act together, I will make a physical on-site call to them. Mind you, this is not for me, but for several wineries I know whose products would match up with their clientele superbly. I had lunch at Manayuk Brewery, and while there, talked to GM Mike Rose about several things, including shooting there and getting some other items on his wine list. The door was even open for an opportunity there for some other wine importers and distributors.

Friday had Al and I attending a VIP tasting of wines in Atlantic City that Terranova Imports has (thanks again Carmine), and led me to making some new connections as well as reconnecting with some past ones. I also received an email on Friday from someone I met at Vino 2010 in New York regarding the wines made from varietals that they are trying to keep alive as well as the fact that they are also involved in dog rescue, and they remembered that the closest person to me also does dog rescue. What they might not have realized is that I love that varietal, and of course, this is going to go somewhere.

In the past three weeks, it's really been all about the love; being great with people and having no pretenses against talking to someone or helping someone out. Though my life has several hurdles that need to be tackled, I am blessed not only to have certain people in my life, but to be able to meet other people, and either directly or indirectly we have an impact on each other's lives. There are the folks that know I am serious about what I am doing, and contribute to it, and the folks that I have contributed to.

We have already reached maximum capacity for our two seatings at the end of this month, and I might try to add another seating of another line of wines. Part of the reason we filled up nicely is do to a number of things after one person purchased four tickets. As the story goes, this customer, John Molesworth, purchased tickets for the second seating, two of which he was going to raffle off in a basket for a fundraiser for a young girl affected by a rare form of cancer that has already taken one of her eyes. Once I found that out, I told him to give me a day or two. Well, so far, I have some five wineries, importers and distributors that are donating product for baskets and one restaurant that is donating dinner for four and a happy hour. He, in turn, told some other people what I set in motion, and they turned around and are supporting me.

Summarily, I see things coming together in a variety of ways, and while it might not exactly follow the blueprint I have, it is all going in the right direction. And with that, the colors are more vibrant like I used Cheer detergent or something. And I also discovered a great Zinfandel from Rosenblum Cellars last week.

Our Mission:The Black Winer strives to expose African Americans [and others] to wines,
without the flair, stuffiness, and airs of elitism and snobbery that you get from sommeliers and high level wine
enthusiasts. We believe in finding something that you like the taste of, outside of the basic brands that you have
been force-fed over the years through a combination of ethnically targeted advertising, and what people in your
family have historically been drinking.

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